Majority of House Democrats Vote to Move Forward‎ with Van Hollen's DISCLOSE Act

Press Release

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen secured the votes of the majority of House Democrats to move forward with the DISCLOSE Act, legislation he introduced to promote transparency and disclosure of the secret money being used to influence American elections

"This is the People's House, but right now there are groups spending millions and millions of dollars trying to substitute their special interest for the public interest," Congressman Van Hollen said. "Americans have a right to know who's trying to influence their vote, and I'm proud that the majority of House Democrats voted in favor of moving the DISCLOSE Act forward today. Republicans must end their obstruction and restore transparency in our elections."

Last week, Congressman Van Hollen, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) and others sent a bicameral letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan urging him to allow Congress to vote on the DISCLOSE Act.

Congressman Israel said, "Everyday Americans are tired of special interests and big corporations funneling money into our political system to rig the outcome of our elections. That's why we called on Speaker Ryan and the Republicans to join House Democrats and pass the DISCLOSE Act -- taking secret money out of the equation and providing the transparency we need in our political process."

The DISCLOSE Act passed the House in 2010, but was defeated by one vote in the Senate. It would require corporations and other special interests to disclose contributions of $10,000 or more within 24 hours to the Federal Election Commission, as well as disclose their support in ads. It would also require them to disclose their spending to their shareholders and require lobbyists to disclose campaign-related expenditures in conjunction with their lobbying activities.

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